Diary of a Digital Learning Coach

Have you ever wished you had a library of digital books that was customized to the interests of each learner from your class? What if those books were not only digital, but included read to me and audiobooks as well? Well, my friends, meet Epic! No, Epic! is not some brand new, shiny digital tool that will transform your entire classroom world with one click or tap.  One app rarely can.  In case you missed my earlier posts, learning is not about the tool.   But Epic! is an app that provides an online digital library that is customized to learner interest.  It won't solve every problem you ever had, but it can be a great resource in your toolbelt to promote reading and provide learners with different reading choices. It isn't new, but it has purpose.   For the learner who's read everything in your classroom library.  For the time you wish the library had just a few more weather books.  For the reader that just isn't feeling motivated to read unless it means

Once upon a time it was summer.  I enjoyed long days of relaxing by the pool. I stayed up late and binge-watched a ton of Netflix. Back in those lazy days, I excitedly saved a ton of things from my Twitter feed, thinking I had plenty of time to explore and tell our educators all about them later.   And then, well, the school year happened. As I slowly dig myself out from under the first quarter of the school year, I did something I very rarely remember to do.  I circled back. And so...I give you...my Recap of RecapThat, a great video reflection resource that almost went forgotten in my bookmarks.   RecapThat in Action Image used with permission from RecapThat RecapThat is a video reflection curation tool.  As an educator, I set up an account and class on the web version of RecapThat .  Kids are able to join the class by email address or class code.  (I chose to use the class code - so easy).   Recap lets you record and/or write a prompt question(s) to "assign&quo

To those who know me and my obsession with puppets, this post will come as no surprise. After all, a Kindergarten teacher turned Digital Learning Coach has a huge soapbox to stand on.   Why?   Because little kids can. We've come a long way from sand tables and letter of the week. Why? Because little kids can. Our learners now have a world at their fingertips and have never known a world with no internet. They are not afraid to click and tap and explore.  Why? Because little kids can. Last week, I focused my learning on exploring a range of apps by Duck Duck Moose , the makers of Chatterpix Kids. They produce a bunch of easy to use apps that are FREE.  One I loved in particular is the Draw and Tell app , which lets our kids illustrate, write and record stories that can have multiple scenes.   I couldn't just learn on my own...so I asked some 1st graders to help.  Why not?  They took about 10 minutes with me to learn the basics of the app and some expectat

A blank page with a dark blinking cursor sits mocking me tonight.   The truth is, I wrote a whole post already and stocked it in my drafts for another time, another day.  It is a reflective post and I will publish it soon.  But today is Teach Me Something Tuesday and my brain is flooded with other ideas...which one to pick?  The cursor blinks... It's also true that even a blogger gets writer's block. Blogger's block, if you will.  It reminds me of why we should all say thanks for the special individuals that teach 4th grade writing. EEK. Image created at imageflip.com So in lieu of amazing written insight tonight, I give you 3 digital strategies that could help when your learners  (or you) have writer's block. Writer's Block Remedy #1:  Map it out. Sometimes thinking needs to be visible before it is coherent.  Why not draw or map out ideas using  Popplet or Ideament app?  Learners who thrive when working together could use the meeting componen